Jordan has
threatened to fast-track the execution of a would-be suicide bomber the
Islamic State is trying to free if the terror group kills its captured
pilot, it was reported today.
The
government has apparently warned that Sajida al-Rishawi and other
jailed ISIS commanders would be 'quickly judged and sentenced' in
revenge for Muath al-Kaseasbeh's death.
It
comes after a deadline for a possible prisoner swap allegedly set by
ISIS passed yesterday with no clue over the fate of al-Kaseasbeh or
fellow Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.
Intelligence sources said ISIS's refusal to prove that al-Kaseasbeh was alive meant any deal with the militants was doomed.
Now Jordan has reportedly stepped up its rhetoric by warning of its intent to retaliate if the negotiations end in bloodshed.
Elijah
Magnier, chief international correspondent for Kuwait's Al Rai
newspaper, told MailOnline: 'I have reliable contact in the Jordanian
government who says a message has been passed to ISIS.
'It
warns that if they kill the pilot they will implement the death
sentences for Sajida and other ISIS prisoners as soon as possible.
Jordanian F-16 pilot Muath
al-Kaseasbeh (centre) is captured by the Islamic State after after
crashing near its HQ in the Syrian city of Raqqa in December. ISIS is
threatening to kill him unless Jordan releases a terrorist
Jordan has threatened to fast-track
the execution of a would-be suicide bomber the Islamic State is trying
to free if the terror group kills al-Kaseasbeh, seen here after being
captured in Syria in December
In its latest audio recording, ISIS
threatened to kill Muath al-Kaseasbeh if a deadline was not kept for the
release of would-be suicide bomber al-Rishawi by dusk Iraq time
Thursday - around 5.30pm (2.30pm GMT)
'There are other prisoners in Jordan that ISIS would like to free.'
MailOnline has attempted to contact the Jordanian government for comment, but a spokesman has not yet responded.
Shortly
after reports of the ultimatum emerged, Jordan issued a statement
saying they were still waiting for proof that the captured F-16 pilot
was still alive.
Jordan had agreed to an ISIS demand to free al-Rishawi who failed to fulfil her Al Qaeda mission as a suicide bomber.
In
return, ISIS said it would not execute the 26-year-old pilot, who was
seized in December after crashing near its HQ in the Syrian city of
Raqqa.
In
its latest audio recording, ISIS threatened to kill al-Kaseasbeh if a
deadline was not kept for the release of al-Rishawi by dusk Iraq time
yesterday - around 5.30pm (2.30pm GMT).
But it appeared to make no promises to release him, another condition the Jordanian government is demanding.
It was not clear from the recording what would happen to Mr Goto if the deadline was missed.
Jordan has threatened to speed up the
execution of a would-be suicide bomber the Islamic State is trying to
free if the terror group kills its captured pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh,
seen above in a picture being held by fellow hostage Kenji Goto in a
video posted by ISIS last week demanding the release of an Iraqi
terrorist
The Jordanian government has
apparently warned ISIS that Sajida al-Rishawi and other jailed Islamic
extremists would be 'quickly judged and sentenced' in revenge for pilot
Muath al-Kaseasbeh's death
Japan also said it had no new progress to report.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said every effort was being made to secure the release of journalist Kenji Goto.
'We
are gathering and analysing information while asking for cooperation
from Jordan and other countries, making every effort to free Kenji
Goto,' he told a parliamentary panel.
Government
spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters repeated Japan's 'strong trust'
in Jordan to help save the freelance journalist.
Mr
Suga said the government had been in close contact with Mr Goto's wife
Rinko Jogo, who released a statement pleading for her husband's life.
'I
fear that this is the last chance for my husband, and we now have only a
few hours left,' Ms Jogo said in a statement released through the Rory
Peck Trust, a London-based organisation for freelance journalists.
Ms
Jogo said she had avoided public comment until the last minute to try
to protect her daughters, a newborn baby and a two-year-old, from media
attention.
Showing the strain: Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe reacts during a meeting as the country anxiously
awaits news of a prisoner exchange with ISIS which was due to take place
at sunset in the Middle East
Stress: Safi al-Kaseasbeh, the father
of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh who has been taken hostage by
ISIS, is seen after meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II following a
protest by the pilot's relatives at the entrance to the royal palace to
ensure the government does all it can to secure his son's release
An
audio message purportedly posted online by IS group said the Jordanian
pilot, Lieutenant Muath al-Kaseasbeh, would be killed if would-be
suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi was not delivered to the Turkish border
by sunset yesterday, Iraq time. There was no mention on whether the
pilot or Mr Goto would be traded for her.
The
authenticity of the recording could not be verified independently but
the possibility of a swap was raised on Wednesday when Jordan said it
was willing to trade Rishawi for the pilot.
After
sundown in the Middle East, with no news on the fate of either Lt
Kaseasbeh or Mr Goto, the families' agonising wait dragged on.
In
the Jordanian capital Amman, the pilot's brother Jawdat Kaseasbeh, said
his family had 'no clue' where the negotiations stood.
'We received no assurances from anyone that he is alive,' he said. 'We are waiting, just waiting.'
Jordan's
government spokesman, Mohammed al-Momani, signalled last night that, in
any case, a swap was on hold because the hostage-takers had not
delivered proof the pilot was still alive.
Rishawi,
44, faces death by hanging for her role in a suicide bombing, one of
three simultaneous attacks on Amman hotels in November 2005 that killed
60 people.
She
survived because her belt of explosives did not detonate. She initially
confessed, but later recanted, saying she was an unwilling
participant.
Anticpation and anxiety: People gather
at the Akcakale border control in Turkey, one of the possible sites
where it is believed the prisoner exchange deal between ISIS and Jordan
would have taken place
WHY A PRISONER SWAP WOULD ULTIMATELY WEAKEN ISIS
Dr
Andreas Krieg, from King's College London's Department of Defence
Studies, believes that a prisoner swap would benefit ISIS in the
short-term, for propaganda purposes, but would ultimately weaken them.
He
told MailOnline: 'The US and the UK government are probably the only
governments that have taken an assertive stance towards not negotiating
with terrorists.
'A prisoner swap will only have propaganda value for ISIS.
'It
is not of any operational significance. But symbolically they will be
able to demonstrate to their own people and potential recruits in the
West that they have the bargaining power to issue demands to powerful
governments.
'Also,
ISIS needs this symbolic success as the fall of Kobane is a major
symbolic defeat after they poured so many resources in it.
'After
all it seems they will not prevail there. It is also a significant blow
against the Jordanian government, which as part of the US-led coalition
is under significant domestic and external Japanese pressure to do
something.
'ISIS would make Jordan look weak compared to local extremists in Jordan and to coalition partners, most notably the US.
'But
to be honest, with ISIS urgently in need for new financial resources, I
think that a prisoner swap is always better than ransom.
'The
initially claimed ransom would have added significantly to their budget
(it would have covered 10 per cent of their annual budget). They can't
smuggle oil anymore, avenues of extortion have been exhausted.
'So
kidnap for ransom is the only significant income they can generate. Not
getting the money is a good thing. It will weaken rather than
significantly strengthen the organization.
'We
can't say much about the swap at the moment. Just that it will be done
by intermediaries. But both sides would be stupid to try to use the
actual swap at the border to play games.
For
Jordan it will jeopardise the life of their pilot and for ISIS it would
undermine their credibility as negotiation partners in kidnapping
cases.
'As I said, ISIS needs kidnap for ransom to maintain their financial self-sufficiency.'
A man, believed to be an Islamic state
militant, is seen near the northern Syrian town of Tal Abyad as he is
pictured from the Turkish border town of Akcakale, where it is believed
the prisoner swap may take place
She
is from the Iraqi city of Ramadi and has close family ties to the Iraqi
branch of al Qaida, a precursor of IS. Three of her brothers were al
Qaida operatives killed in fighting in Iraq.
Jordan has faced tough choices in the hostage drama.
Releasing
Rishawi, implicated in the worst terror attack in Jordan, would be at
odds with the government's tough stance on Islamic extremism.
But
King Abdullah is under domestic pressure to bring home Lt Kaseasbeh,
who was captured in December after his Jordanian F-16 crashed near the
IS' de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria.
He
is the first foreign military pilot to be captured since the US and its
allies began air strikes against IS more than four months ago.
Jordan's
participation in the air strikes is unpopular in the kingdom and the
pilot is seen by some as the victim of a war they feel should not
involve the country.
Lt Kaseasbeh's relatives have expressed such views and accused the government of bungling efforts to win his freedom.
'They
abandoned Muath, the son of the army!' chanted protesters gathered at a
'diwan', or meeting place, in Amman for tribesmen from Karak, southern
Jordan.
Ms
Jogo has revealed that she exchanged several emails with her husband's
captors and that in the past 20 hours she received one that appeared to
be their final demand.
She urged the Japanese and Jordanian governments to finalise a swap that would free both hostages.
'I beg the Jordanian and Japanese governments to understand that the fates of both men are in their hands,' she said.
The
hostage drama began last week after ISIS released a video showing Mr
Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa kneeling in orange
jumpsuits beside a masked man who threatened to kill them in 72 hours
unless Japan paid a £132 million ransom.
That demand has since apparently shifted to one for the release of Rishawi.
The militants have reportedly killed Mr Yukawa, 42, although that has not been confirmed.
Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday attacked the
Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church, otherwise called Winners
Chapel, Dr. David Oyedepo, over a comment attributed to the cleric on
Sunday that the gates of hell would be opened for those who failed to
support the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
